An Ancient Egyptian Mystery
by Misura
Summary: [Egyptian AU] The Pharaoh plays a guessing game, while the Thief plays an endgame. [BakuraYami sort of friends]


An Ancient Egyptian Mystery

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Warnings/notes: pseudo-Ancient Egyptian AU (including bad Egyptian names), slight Yami/Bakura, weirdness/silliness, ooc.

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh.

written at 9th december 2004, by Misura, for lucidscreamer, who replied to my 'Comment and I'll drabble you something for an interest of yours'-post on livejournal. (Interests chosen were: ancient Egyptian mysteries, crossovers, YuGiOh, darkshipping, Sherlock Holmes)

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"We are bored," Noble Pharaoh Yami stated. After a moment's thought, he amended his statement to a more humble: "I am bored." Though his lessons in Being A Proper Teenage Pharaoh hadn't yet covered this particular topic, he was pretty sure there was a rule somewhere about Pharaohs not being allowed to admit they were quite thoroughly and utterly bored.

Like he also couldn't say he'd been too lazy to study; Pharaohs simply weren't lazy. Pharaohs were 'temporarily indisposed due to overexertion'.

"I'm not," Humble Peasant Bakura responded. Well, in reality Bakura wasn't really much of a peasant; as far as Yami knew he never worked on the fields or something. He also wasn't possessed of much humility. Mahado didn't approve of that at all, calling the way Bakura acted around Yami improper and unsuitable.

Bakura had declared Mahado to be a stuffy bore, and an idiot to boot. Yami felt that was rather too harsh, though he had to admit Bakura's accusations had a grain of truth in them. As had Mahado's. Usually, he avoided mentioning the one when in a conversation with the other, a simple enough thing to do that kept the peace. More or less.

Mahado was stuffed full of interesting facts and stories about the past. Bakura, on the other hand, could tell him everything about the everyday-life of 'normal' people. He also always knew a funny joke when Yami needed a laugh. Which was fairly often, with the weight of the crown resting on his head alone now.

"Can't we go and do something fun?" Yami asked pleadingly. Usually, Bakura didn't need any prompting, but today he seemed in an odd mood. A bit absent, as if his mind was far away from here.

"Something fun ... " Bakura repeated, eyeing Yami speculatively. "All right. We'll play a game."

Yami nodded eagerly, sliding off his throne. He was still less tall than Bakura, even if his nurse had assured him he'd grown again these past months. Of course, Bakura was a good five years older, so he supposed it was too much to hope he'd ever be able to match Bakura in height.

"What kind of game?" Yami inquired. Some of Bakura's games were a bit dangerous, involving teasing the Palace Guards or sneaking into the kitchens. Yami might be Pharaoh, but that didn't mean he could get away with everything. In fact, it often seemed like he was punished more harshly than other children of his age, 'because he was Pharaoh and should know better'.

"We'll play ... Detective!" Bakura declared with a grand gesture. "As Sethmet Halmesh and his faithful servant Ankhwat, we'll solve a Great Mystery."

Yami considered this for a while. It sounded, well, interesting. Not boring. Not overly risky either.

"I don't know any Great Mysteries," he confessed, feeling embarrassed. Of course, there were the Mysteries that Mahado and Shimon taught him, but he didn't think they were the kind that could be 'solved'. They just -were-. And gave him headaches. And kept him from doing fun things.

"Not to worry, I do," Bakura reassured him. "And today, because it's such a special day, we shall investigate the Great Mystery of who robbed your father's tomb."

"But ... my father's tomb wasn't robbed. Karimu has checked the seals on it only yesterday." Yami frowned, attempting to figure out this game. "Besides, nobody'd dare to steal from the deceased. The gods would punish someone like that with unmentionable agonies and merciless retribution." Or so Seth had told him anyway. Seth was a bit creepy, in Yami's opinion. He never smiled or slouched or looked like he wanted to have -fun-.

"And that, my dear Ankhwat, is where you are wrong. How else could I have come by -this-, if it hadn't been for some vile, evil tombrobber sneaking into your father's grave unnoticedly?" Bakura held up an amulet. Yami stared at it, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him.

"Maybe it's a copy," he suggested timidly.

Bakura shook his head, groaning. "No, no, you're going about this all wrong. To find the truth, you have to eliminate the impossible. What you have left then, is the truth, no matter how unlikely."

"That doesn't sound like a very good method," Yami opined. "After all, I just told you it's -impossible- that someone would be able to enter my father's tomb without breaking the seal. Yet you still say that's what happened."

"True. So what does that teach you, my dear Pharaoh?" Bakura smirked.

"That nothing is impossible?" Yami guessed.

Bakura snorted. "Not really. What it teaches you, is that you can't trust your Priests. They created the protections on that tomb, using their magic to lock it off. They promised you that nobody'd ever get past their wards. But they lied. They didn't even notice it when someone broke through the magical barrier. Or, if they did, they didn't tell you."

Yami started to shake his head, to defend his Priests. He trusted all of them, even Seth. Surely they wouldn't do anything like what Bakura had told him? Surely ... His gaze fell on the amulet again. The proof.

"I don't like this game," Yami declared, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you give me the amulet, I'll ask Mahado about it. I'm sure he'll be able to explain."

"All he'll give you is more lies," Bakura scoffed. "Now, pay attention. This game isn't done yet."

"Too bad. I don't want to play anymore." Yami sank down on his throne again, hoping it'd give his words some royal weight. "Tell me something to make me laugh."

Bakura narrowed his eyes, and for one moment, Yami thought he'd pushed too far, that Bakura would storm off in a huff and not show his face again for the next few weeks. It had happened before, and Yami usually ended up feeling guilty and apologizing as soon as Bakura popped up again, even if he felt their arguments weren't his fault alone.

"All right. We already concluded that it was the fault of your Priests that your father's tomb was desecrated. Now, all that remains is the person who was their tool, so to speak. The one who broke their spells. Can you guess who that is?"

Yami sighed, sagging down in his seat. "Of course not."

Bakura toyed with the amulet. "No? But it's so simple. The evidence is right in front of you, if you'd just look at it."

"You got the amulet at the marketplace, I guess. So we might ask the merchant who sold it to you. But if the thief was smart, he probably disguised himself. And he had to be smart to succeed."

"I'll let you in on a little secret then, little Yami," Bakura crooned. "I didn't buy this amulet. I didn't find it somewhere in the sand. I didn't get it as a present from some stranger. How, oh how, did I get it then?"

"I don't know," Yami said warily. "But I assume you're going to tell me."

"That's correct. Your first time, so far." Bakura smiled. "I got the amulet by taking it out of your father's sarcophagus."

OWARI

A/N: Not the best place to end, but ... I don't know. It fitted somehow. I tried writing more, but it all turned melodramatic and dark, with Bakura telling Yami to 'enjoy the years he'd left to live' and such. Erk.


End file.
